How Borno Residents Worked With Boko Haram Against Jonathan’s Administration – Governor

Shettima, who made the disclosure in Kaduna state, revealed that the poor Borno residents often gave vital information to insurgents at the peril of the military for meagre amount of money.

“Poverty, Poverty and I say again, poverty, is to many of us, the number one monster dragging backward, our Northern Nigeria,” Shettima said.

“For instance, in June, 2013 (while President Jonathan was in power), we recorded a good number of extremely poor persons, who were recruited for as little as N5,000 to either spy on soldiers and report their vulnerability to insurgents, attack and set schools ablaze by late night or in some cases, poor old women were paid similar amounts by insurgents, to either keep arms in their huts or smuggle arms from one point to another.

“One case I always remember is that of one Musa Grema, a 13 year old boy who revealed that he accepted N5,000 to set three of our primary schools ablaze and also spy on soldiers, because his parents relied on him for their feeding.

“Some may argue that theirs are societies with common tribes while ours in northern Nigeria, is the multi-ethnic reality of the African mix, as some researchers call it. This African-mix is ordinarily a comparative advantage and we can make it so,” the governor said.